gadget

gadget

any device or machine, especially one whose name cannot be recalled. Often either clever or complicated.

He bought a neat new gadget for shredding potatoes.

That's quite a lot of gadgets you have collected. Do you use any of them?

Origin

Unknown. First used in print by Robert Brown in 1886 (see quote in definition section). Might come from Frenchgâchette or gagée.

gadget - Computer Definition

(1) Pronounced "gah-jit," slang for any hardware device, typically small. Synonymous with "gizmo." Smartphones, tablets and portable game and music players are sometimes placed in the gadget category. See fondleslab.

(2) A mini app that stays on screen to provide quick functionality. Search box, clock, weather, calculator and stock market gadgets are typical examples. The gadget may be static, such as a calculator, that requires input from the user, or be "live" and changing such as the weather and stock market.
Gadgets are available for Windows desktops, starting with Vista, the Google Desktop and the personal home pages of Windows Live and iGoogle. Gadgets are called "widgets" ("wih-jit") on smartphones, tablets, the Mac desktop and Yahoo personal home pages. See widget, Sidebar, Google Desktop and iGoogle.

Gadgets

Gadgets (widgets) provide useful functions that are either always available or that can be instantly called up.